Opuscules

Ferland, Jean-B.-A. (Jean-Baptiste-Antoine), 1805-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 152K words
Chapters: 16

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Opuscules by Jean-B.-A. FerlandAuthor: Ferland, Jean-B.-A. (Jean-Baptiste-Antoine), 1805-1865,Language: French, Class: F1001: North America local history: Canada, Release Date: Jan 17, 2005

Editor's review

This Opuscules (meaning "minor works") is a collection of short writings by the nineteenth-century Canadian Catholic historian Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Ferland, and a public-domain text in North American local history and Canadian studies. Its value lies not in a systematic general history but in preserving, from the perspective of an eyewitness and parish observer, fragments of religious, educational, Indigenous missionary, and early social life in Quebec, offering firsthand corroboration for the study of French Canada's transitional period. The text is in nineteenth-century French, with a solemn register and long, flowing sentences that carry the rhythm of speeches and sermons. For general readers, the most engaging parts are the concrete character sketches and local anecdotes; for researchers, it offers material for discerning the source's standpoint and narrative tendencies. It suits quiet desk-based study, or use as supplementary comparative material in Canadian history and church history courses. Being a public-domain electronic edition, it has no modern annotations or introduction, so readers must supply the historical background themselves.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students of early Canadian history and French Quebec history
Readers interested in nineteenth-century Catholic missionary history and parish records
History enthusiasts with some French who are willing to read nineteenth-century prose
Libraries and archivists collecting public-domain North American local history texts

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking a systematic general history or popular historical narrative
Readers with limited French reading ability who depend on modern translations
Rigorous researchers who prefer contemporary scholarly annotations and introductions

Reading tips

First consult Ferland's biography and the background of nineteenth-century church history in Quebec, then proceed to the text.
Read piece by piece, and after each piece note in your own words the key people, places, and events.
For long sentences, identify the main clause first and then add the modifiers; consult a modern French translation when necessary to grasp the meaning.
Read alongside contemporary Canadian local histories to compare narrative standpoints and source selection.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a complete historical work?

No. Opuscules is a collection of minor works made up of numerous short pieces, not a systematic general history. It is better read as documentary fragments and observational writing than used as a Canadian history textbook.

What language level is needed to read this book?

The original is in nineteenth-century French, with long sentences and rather classical diction. Readers with intermediate or above French reading ability who can use a dictionary to handle old spellings and religious terminology will find it much smoother going.

Does the public-domain electronic edition have annotations and an introduction?

This edition comes from Project Gutenberg and usually provides only the original text, without modern editorial notes or a scholarly introduction. Readers need to supplement the historical background themselves or read it alongside relevant research works.

Comments

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About the author

Ferland, Jean-B.-A. (Jean-Baptiste-Antoine), 1805- Author · Canadian · 1805–1865

Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Ferland (1805–1865) was a Canadian Catholic priest and historian. He devoted sustained attention to the historical development of French North America, authored a course on Canadian history, and worked to organize source materials on French North America, leaving later scholars a documentary foundation for studying the political, religious, and social changes of the region. One work by him, Opuscules, is held in this catalog, a collection of shorter essays or notes. Overall, public information is limited; his writing is distinguished by the arrangement of historical sources and factual narrative, with an emphasis on documentary evidence, and its influence lies mainly in the preservation and dissemination of materials on early Canadian and French North American history.